Piece & Joy Quilt Along: Week 2
Now that we have all our fabric for the Piece & Joy Quilt cut, we get to start piecing blocks. This is one of our favorite parts of the process! For this week, we will be sewing together all of the full and half blocks (through Step 3 in the pattern and Step 4 in the book).
Start by laying out the cut pieces, according to the diagram in the book. Since this is a larger quilt, we used the floor of Audrey’s studio. If you have a design wall, use that! It’s important to see everything together to make sure the flow of color is working throughout the tree before you start sewing.
We started with the layout from the book, but since the prints we are using have lots of dark colors, we opted to switch some things around. It’s your quilt, so don’t be afraid to make some changes! We like to think of the layout as a jumping off point, since it’s easier to edit than start from scratch. Here’s a mid-process video of how it looked for us editing the layout:
Make sure to step back and look at everything from a distance. We will even leave it alone for a while, and once we come back with fresh eyes there is always something we notice right away. Another idea would be to take a photo with your phone and change the colors to black and white to check values.
Once your layout is finalized, start piecing the full and half Hourglass/QST blocks. This is just the same as we did with the Spring Wreath Quilt. Sew the triangles together in pairs, then press the seams and sew the two halves together. For the half blocks, just sew the two triangles together. We prefer to press seams open for this quilt, even though that’s not our usual choice, just to help reduce the bulk of the seams once the blocks are sewn together. We’ve recently started using a tailor’s clapper to flatten our seams, and it works wonderfully!
Once all the full and half blocks are pieced and pressed, you will trim each of these down to size. Check the pattern carefully, because the sizes are different for the full and half blocks. Here’s a quick trimming video:
For the half block, you will only trim the fabric on two sides. Make sure to line the diagonal markings on the ruler up with the seam of the block.
Once all of the blocks are trimmed, you’re done for the week!
You can share your progress and enter our grand prize drawing in a couple of different ways:
- On Instagram, use both both #pieceandjoyqal and #theclothparcel hashtags in your post. You can also tag us @theclothparcel. (Please note that if you have a private Instagram account, we won’t be able to see any of your posts. You are welcome to screenshot and DM us for your entry to count.)
- In our private Facebook group, you can share photos in a post or in the comments of any of our posts. You can also ask for help or advice there!
We would love to see your progress, and every photo you share on Instagram or in our Facebook group will earn you an entry into our grand prize drawing at the end of the quilt along!
Prizes will be a queen size batting from Hobbs Batting, along with patterns, stickers, and pins from us. We hope you’ll participate in the fun! Next week, we will piece the quilt top. Let us know if you have any questions about piecing or anything else about the quilt along in the comments!
